Group begins media campaign for 2015

The Executive Director, “Enough is Enough,” a pro-democracy group, Yemi Adamolekun, has called on the civil society groups to explore the social media to improve governance, transparency and accountability in Nigeria.

Adamolekun made this known at a briefing organised by the Project and Campaign on the 2015 General Election in Lagos.

The project, which theme is on “Register, Select, Vote and Protect your Vote” is supported by the Kudirat Initiative For Democracy (KIND), Community Life Project, West Africa NGO Network (WAGONet), and Reclaim Nigeria.

According to the need to leverage on social media tool and information is to “enable more Nigerians to be aware of their rights and responsibilities as citizens to ensure that our elected and appointed officials are accountable to the people they serve”.

Adamolekun said “the electoral process is at the heart of our work and we have spent the last two years building social media tools and networks to deepen youth engagement in governance”.

She said that only constructive engagement on a platform of knowledge in an atmosphere of mutual respect can bring about enduring positive change and development in Nigeria. She asserted that the new media is a powerful tool for socio-economic and political change and government and other institutes responsible to the well being of its citizens cannot ignore. “There are approximately five million Nigerians on facebook.

If each person reaches and influences five people based on the information they are exposed to, that 25 million people will be mobilised,”she said. Adamolekun said 2015 will be an important milestone in Nigeria’s history. “As such, we are focused on organising the youth vote to be effective and transformational and also want to communicate numbers that the youth vote must count,” she said.

She added that the technology tools to be showcased include: Revoda, the election monitoring mobile app launched in 2011 as well as the crowd sourcing platform, shineyoureye.org and all activities that are anchored on its official election campaign: Register, Select, Vote and Protect Your Vote which was launched in 2010. “We will share experience and knowledge of tools used around the world and explores possibilities for adaptation, particularly pertaining to key governance issues such as budget tracking and security.

She opined that government cannot afford to ignore new media as it has made it easier for citizens to make their voices heard and force government official to response. In her words, The Executive Director of Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, Mrs. Amy Odekunle, whose participation is to mobilize women and the girl child for the campaign, said women must be part of the conversation as that would help further drive home their demand for a better world.